Risks of hip replacement surgery 

Loosening of the replacement hip joint

Hip replacement parts can wear out and may loosen over time. Newer prosthesis materials help to reduce this risk, but no technology is perfect.

Most hip replacements last an average of about 20 years, but eventually the implants wear out or loosen, making the hip unstable.

Loosening or damage to the prosthesis is more of a problem for younger patients, who are more active and live much longer, putting more pressure on the new hip.

If the new joint needs replacing, a revision replacement operation may be performed.

The more revision surgeries required, the shorter the life-span of the implant. That is why doctors often try to delay joint revision replacement surgery as long as possible.

Blood clots (deep vein thrombosis)

Blood clots can form in the large veins (deep vein thrombosis or DVT) of the leg and pelvis after joint replacement surgery.

To lower the risk of blood clots forming, your doctor will give you blood-thinning medication, which you will continue to take for several weeks after the hip replacement surgery.

You will also be given compression stockings to keep the blood in the legs circulating. Early mobilisation after hip replacement surgery can help prevent blood clots forming.

If a blood clot does develop, it can travel from your legs to your lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism (a blockage of one of the arteries in your lungs), which can be potentially fatal.

If your doctor discovers that blood clots have formed in your legs, you will probably need to take a higher dose of blood-thinning medication for longer.

Dislocation

Dislocation of a hip replacement happens if the ball part of the joint comes away from the hip socket. Dislocation often occurs after a fall or sometimes even while sitting down on a low seat.

Dos and don'ts after hip replacement surgery

* Don't cross your legs
* Do use elevated seats
* Don't bend your hip up more than 90 degrees (towards your chest)
* Do sleep with a pillow between your legs
* Don't turn your foot inwards

Infection

Infection is a possible complication of any surgery, but in a hip replacement it is very serious and can sometimes lead to the removal of the hip prosthesis.

Infections can occur in the days and weeks following surgery or can even happen many years after the operation.

Your doctor may try to clear the infection through repeated surgery, especially during early infections. Many infections, however, mean that the hip prosthesis will need to be removed. After this, you will have to undergo antibiotic treatment.

To reduce the risk on infection after surgery, you should always take antibiotics if you need to have other invasive procedures elsewhere after the operation, such as a colonoscopy or even dential treatment.

Change in leg length

In some cases the leg on the side of the hip replacement can increase in length after hip replacement surgery.

The increase is generally small and will not need further treatment. The leg may be longer than the other side by about one to two centimetres.

If the difference troubles you, then altering the shoe on the side that was not operated on will correct the problem.

Nerve injury

Hip replacement surgery can injure the sciatic nerve, which is the main nerve of the leg.

Risk of this is very low, but if it does happen to you, you may not be able to pull the ankle and foot upwards or downwards and you may find that the skin in the calf or shin area feels numb or you may have pins and needles.

If injury to the sciatic nerve does occur, the nerve can eventually recover, but this will lengthen your recovery time in comparison to patients without sciatic nerve injury.

Fracture of the thigh bone

This is the technical term for a break in the bone. A fracture of the thigh bone is a rare risk during the operation.